29 July 2011

VJERAN Simunic is confident the current crop of DPMM FC players still have what it takes to win trophies.

The popular ex-coach of Brunei's only professional football club, the Croatian's finest hour in charge of the team came in June 2009 when he helped them become the first foreign side to lift the Singapore League Cup.

It is the club's first and only piece of silverware in international football, and Simunic believes the players are capable of tasting more success.

Simunic was hoping to complete his 500th game as a coach when DPMM FC were still competing in the Singapore League (S-League), but he was forced to celebrate the milestone elsewhere when Fifa suspended Brunei a ruling which meant DPMM FC had to discontinue their S-League campaign.

The suspension has since been lifted and it is understood the team are eyeing a return to the S-League.

He was in charge of DPMM FC for 17 months, during which the team had a good chance of winning the treble.

After leaving Brunei he went back to Croatia for a short stint in charge of NK Medimurje and then took charge of Ho Chi Minh City FC a year later, the club that plays in the country's second tier Vietnam First Division.

But a recent trip back to the Sultanate gave him all the assurance he needed that a return back at the helm would be just as fruitful as in 2009.

"The current crop of players are still good. They are still young," said Simunic last week.

"The players have not played for two years so they need so start training properly as soon as possible.

"They must start now so that they are strong at the end of the year.

"The club needs a few foreigners to help the team become better in any segment, be it in midfield, defence or attack.

"It would be good if we can reinforce the team that way but I have seen there are a few new kids and I am very happy about that.

"That means the current generation can become leaders for the young kids," he added.

The comments are hardly surprising.

During a visit to Brunei in February, Simunic said that DPMM FC have quality players like striker Shahrazen Hj Md Said and left winger Sairol Hj Sahri who are capable of playing at any Asean club.

However, Fifa's ban on the Sultanate curtailed their development, and it is a decision that still leaves Simunic fuming.

"As I said two years ago, Fifa made a big mistake by suspending Brunei," he noted.

"Brunei is a good place to develop footballers. That is one of the reasons I like to come here; it is a challenge.

"I am sure we can be better than two years ago.

"Vietnam are very strong and they won the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup three years ago. I want Brunei to someday get that kind of result.

"I know we are DPMM FC, but in my opinion, the national team and the club must not be two entirely different things.

"We might have a squad of 25 players and I am sure from there, many of our young players can be in the national team," insisted Simunic, who was in charge of the country during the 2008 AFF Suzuki Cup qualifiers where the squad were made up of DPMM FC players.

The journeyed coach was talking to The Brunei Times on a short return to the county to discuss the possibility of rejoining DPMM FC.

Though Ho Chi Minh City FC have four games left in the season, he has a clause in his contract that allows him to leave at any time a move he initiated since he didn't know when Fifa would lift the suspension.

But in an earlier interview Simunic said he would only return to Brunei once he fulfills his obligations in Vietnam.The Brunei Times

28 July 2011

Kuala Lumpur: Brunei’s HRH Prince Sufri Bolkiah led a delegation from the National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam (NFABD) in their first visit to AFC House here on Thursday.

HRH Prince Bolkiah, the Honorary President of NFABD, led the delegation which consisted of NFABD President Dato’ Paduka Abd Rahman Mohiddin, NFABD General Secretary Mohd Noor Abdullah and Brunei Darussalam National Olympic Council Zuraimi Abdul Sani.

AFC Acting President Zhang Jilong and AFC General Secretary Alex Soosay received the delegation.

In an interview with the-afc.com, HRH Prince Bolkiah has said Bruneians and NFABD are happy to continue with their football journey following their reinstatement after the former association, Football Association of Brunei Darussalam (BAFA), was suspended by FIFA in 2009.

He said: “We are very happy and excited. We look forward to participating in as many football competitions as possible in the region or other parts of the world. We are also in the process of starting the national league.

“We have sent more than 100 forms to football clubs across the country and we are giving them a tentative deadline of this October. Half of the clubs have responded and I think the response is very encouraging.

“We would like to thank the AFC, the focal point and centre of expertise in football in the continent, for its help and support to us.”

The FIFA Executive Committee on May 31 lifted the suspension of the Sultanate's association after ascertaining that the national association had fulfilled the conditions established by the FIFA Emergency Committee and approved its statutes in line with the FIFA Statutes.

FIFA suspended BAFA at the Executive Committee meeting in Rio, Brazil in September 2009 due to government interference in its affairs, which started with a decision by the Brunei authorities to dissolve BAFA and to replace it with a new association.

24 July 2011

The former DPMM FC coach is back in town to discuss the possibility of rejoining the country's only professional football club which the Croatian left in October 2009 after Brunei was suspended by Fifa.

The suspension meant DPMM FC had to stop competing in the Singapore League (S-League) mid-season, ending a captivating campaign in which they became the first foreign side to lift the Singapore League Cup. It was also the club's first and only piece of silverware in international football.

Simunic guided the club for 17 months and when he was forced to leave, said he always believed he had some unfinished business especially since the side had a good chance of winning the treble in 2009.

After leaving Brunei he went back to Croatia for a short stint in charge of NK Medimurje and then took charge of Ho Chi Minh City FC a year later, the club that play in the country's second tier Vietnam First Division.

Now that Fifa has reversed its decision and Brunei is back on the international scene, the journeyed coach wants to resume his relationship with the country he never really left behind.

"I came to see the situation here and speak about the job. I see I am still accepted by the people and the club and I am really happy to come back again," said Simunic, who has more than 500 games under his belt as a coach for more than a dozen clubs.

"The life of a footballer or coach is like that of a sailor we are always moving around. I usually stay in one place for a year but I was in Brunei for two, and if it works out now, it will be my third.

"I've fallen in love ... There is love on both sides. Brunei is a country which is in my heart and I hope we can soon work together.

"In this case, it is not a question of money. In Vietnam I have good money and position at the club, but I always couldn't wait to come back to Brunei if they want me.

"And I'm proud that they do.

"The job isn't finished here ... The job of two years ago," he reminded The Brunei Times on Thursday.

Simunic only came to Brunei because there is a 15-day pause in the league for the World Cup Asian Zone qualifier between Vietnam and Qatar, the first leg which will be played today in Doha and the second on Thursday.

The Croatian will be going back to Vietnam next week because his side have a game on Saturday.

It is the first of four games his club will play until the season comes to a close on Aug 21, and he is confident nothing will hold him back from returning to Brunei after that.

"I want to finish the season in Vietnam," he insisted.

"About the situation in Vietnam, I have a clause in my contract that states I can leave at any time because I didn't know when Brunei could play again.

"I have already spoken with the (DPMM FC) management and everyone agrees.

"I went to Vietnam because I wanted to work in Asia and gain more experience coaching in the region. Now I can compare Vietnam to Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore," he added. The Brunei Times

22 July 2011

BRUNEI might be making a return to the Malaysia League (M-League) soon if all things pan out well.

This good news was revealed by His Royal Highness Prince Hj Sufri Bolkiah during his trip to Tutong together with His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam for his meet and greet session in the district.

HRH Prince Hj Sufri Bolkiah, also the Honorary President of National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam (NFABD), was responding to a question by The Brunei Times on whether a Brunei football team will be re-entered into the Malaysia League.

"I don't know, maybe," said the HRH, before adding: "We're trying."

Brunei have a long history in the Malaysia League culminating in their Malaysia Cup victory for the first and only time in 1999, which until today remains the Sultanate's greatest football achievement.

Brunei beat Borneo neighbours Sarawak 2-1 to lift the Cup.

The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) dropped Brunei's premier club DPMM FC from the 2009 season of the Malaysian Super League (MSL) after Bafa (Football Association of Brunei Darussalam) was deregistered from the Registrar of Societies (RoS) on Nov 15, 2008.

Fifa's (International Federation of Association Football) rules forbid any football organisation from including an un-registered or deregistered team in any competition.

The deregistration also meant that other local clubs in the country could not compete in any Fifa-sanctioned competitions.

Some 2,500 footballers playing with Brunei's 22 registered clubs were affected.

DPMM FC's season was saved when they were allowed to play in the Singapore League (S-League), but they did not manage to see the end of the competition after they were again disallowed to continue in the league, this time with just five matches left.

In their debut S-League season, DPMM FC managed to become the first foreign side to win the Singapore League Cup emerging victorious after a gritty 4-3 penalty shoot-out win over Singapore Armed Forces FC.

It was only after a gruelling 20 months that the ban on the Sultanate was finally lifted by Fifa the good news received on May 30.

HRH Prince Hj Sufri Bolkiah, the president of the Brunei Darussalam National Olympic Council, got things back on track for football in the Sultanate in early April after a meeting with Fifa Emergency Committee.

They also decided to rename the association from the Football Association of Brunei Darussalam (Bafa) to the National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam (NFABD).

Fifa too decided to restore Brunei's full member privileges allowing the Sultanate to play at the international stage while being eligible once again for Fifa's Financial Assistance Programme and Goal Project.

Fifa members receive an annual FAP boon of US$250,000 plus bonuses. The Goal Project, meanwhile, is a tailor-made development and assistance programme for member countries.The Brunei Times

21 July 2011

The national football coach headed a team of coaches from the Department of Youth and Sports at a trial to select players for September's Asean Football Federation (AFF) Under-19 Championship in Myanmar, the first major football competition that Brunei will be competing in since May 2009.

Though the Sept 1-10 event will mark Brunei's return to international competition after 20 months of suspension by Fifa, Kwon doesn't believe the signs look promising.

"No skill, no power, no insight about play, no midfield general, no finishing, no strong defense, no goalkeeper," sighed the South Korean, who then started apologising profusely.

"There is no Iniesta (Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta) or Pique (Barcelona defender Gerard Pique) here that's how I can explain it to you.

"There were four Brunei Youth Team (Under-18) players here and they played well. But the others look to have had no training and they aren't playing well.

"Brunei has not played an international match in years so it will be hard to discover good players.

"Now we are selecting for the future and we need to make a continued investment in these players for at least two years. Keep them training. That's the most important thing," he stressed.

The Brunei Youth Team used to compete in the second division of the local football league for the past two years and were atop the 10-team table when the competition came to a halt last month.

A total of 66 players showed up for yesterday's trials at the Balapan Track & Field, Hassanal Bolkiah National Sports Complex in Berakas where 29 players were then shortlisted.

Further trials in the other three districts have to be carried out before the team can be selected.

Once that is done, the players from all four districts will be brought together for a centralised trial during which Kwon and his team will have a better understanding as to how the squad will be shaped.

But with less than two months to go until they leave for Myanmar, time is running out.

The national team last took to the field in May 2009 when they competed in the qualifying round of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Cup in Sri Lanka and lost all three of their group stage games.

Brunei was suspended from world football in November of the same year due to government interference, a suspension which world governing body Fifa only lifted on May 30.

A trial for the Under-23 team will be held at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium in Berakas on Saturday at 4pm.

Trials for Under-21 players will also be carried out in all four districts in the coming week.The Brunei Times

20 July 2011

Trials to select players for national U-19 and U-23 teams to be held this week

IT'S PROBABLY just what local footballers have been waiting for.

The Department of Youth and Sports yesterday announced that it will be holding trials to select players for the national Under-19 and Under-23 teams this week the first piece of national team news in years.

Now that Fifa's suspension on Brunei is lifted, the country is eligible to compete in regional and international tournaments under the auspices of the National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam (NFABD).

The trial for the Under-19 team will be held tomorrow while the Under-23 trial will get underway on Saturday and players from all across the country are invited to join.

The former will start at 3pm while the latter will begin at 4pm.

Both trials will be held at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium in Berakas.

Players wishing to participate in the Under-19 trial have to be born after Jan 1, 1993, while those aiming to get into the Under-23 team have to be born after Jan 1, 1988.

It is understood the trials will be carried out by coaches from the Department of Youth and Sports, but it is uncertain as to what tournament the team are being formed to compete in if any at all.

With players from Brunei's only professional football club DPMM FC continously training even throughout the Fifa suspension which lasted 20 months, and local football clubs like AM Gunners, QAF FC, Majra FC and the Royal Brunei Armed Forces' Sports Council (MS ABDB) all competing in the local league during that period, it wouldn't be a surprise if most of the players for the two squads are selected from such teams.

With Brunei back on the world football map after the sport's governing body Fifa lifted its ban on the Sultanate on May 30, competing in any international football tournament will be important in announcing the country's arrival back on the global stage.

The national team last took to the field in May 2009 when they competed in the qualifying round of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Cup in Sri Lanka and lost all three of their group stage games.

Brunei was suspended from world football in November of the same year due to government interference.

Though it is a club competition, the idea of a Southeast Asian (Asean) Super League with the competition set to feature one or two teams from each country in a tournament similar to the UEFA Champions League or Asia's AFC Champions League was welcomed by NFABD general secretary Mohd Noor Hj Abdullah last month, his comments underlining the association's determination to be involved in international football.

"Whatever the Asean Football Federation (AFF) organises, as much as we can we will try to be involved and participate," he told The Brunei Times on June 25.

"Now Brunei is eligible to play in regional and international tournaments, and there are a lot of them going on.

"AFF organises a lot of tournaments and gives its members the opportunity to host them. The AFF Under-16 Championship is in Laos (from July 7-17) and the AFF Under-19 Championship is in Myanmar (from Sept 1-10).

"Brunei likes to participate, but again, it depends on our capability ... (and) the conditions. It depends on how the tournament is organised, for example.

"If the invite comes to us early, and if we think it is worth it for us to participate, we will," he added.

Brunei is currently in a three-way tie for 197th in the Fifa world rankings.

09 July 2011

KOTA RANGER FC got back to winning ways with a 4-1 victory over PSI FC in Group A of the DST Group 2nd President's Cup National Veteran Football League yesterday at the Pehin Dato Seri Maharaja Secondary School in Mentiri.

The victory was the fifth of the season for the Group A leaders after suffering a shocking 3-0 defeat to defending champions Persatuan Sang Jati Dusun (PSJD) at the Tutong Sports Complex on Friday.

It was their only game going without a goal so far but it was back to normalcy yesterday with Radiman Hj Abd Rahman opening the scoring in the 13th minute for Kota Ranger. Hj Mohd Rosanan Abdullah Samak doubled their lead in the 29th minute for them to carry a 2-0 read into the half.

Hj Momin Hj Md Jaafar got on the scoresheet four minutes after the restart but Sapari Hj Salleh managed to get one back for PSI FC in the 66th minute before Hj Momin got his brace in the 76th minute to kill the match off.

It was raining goals at the Tutong Sports Complex with Telbru FT thrashing Rimba Star FC 11-3. The win also pushes Telbru to second spot with 13 points just two behind the leaders after six games played.

It was Rimba Star that got on the scoresheet first with Yassin Hj Md Noor netting in the 12th minute. That seemed to have sparked the outburst with Sharbini replying in the 14th minute for Telbru.

Suni Mat Jerah was the hero scoring four quick goals in succession in the 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th minutes making it 5-1 at that point.

Sajulei Hj Ahmad pulled one back for Rimba Star in the 27th minute but Mohd Ali Hj Momin got the first of his hat-trick in the 31st minute. Rosli Hj Pawi kept Rimba Star within reach with a goal in the 36th minute but right after the restart Sharbini got his second of the day putting Telbru comfortably ahead 7-3 at the break.

Ratano Hj Tuah got the first goal in the second half in the 56th minute before Mohd Ali added two more in the 57th and 59th minutes. Suni then summed up the afternoon with another goal in the 68th minute for Telbru, who have scored a total of 30 goals so far in their campaign.

Semaun Veteran missed their chance on claiming top spot in Group B after drawing 2-2 with basement dwellers Perkasa FC at the Awg Semaun Secondary School field.

Perkasa FC had taken a 2-0 lead into halftime courtesy of a brace from Hj Asdi Hj Durani with goals in the 41st and 44th minutes.

Sheikh Nordin Mohd pulled one back for Semaun Veteran at the hour mark and Abd Rahman Hj Hamid ensured they stole a point finding the back of the net in the 79th minute.

In another Group B match, Veteran 20 cruised to a 4-1 victory over Indera FC at the Rimba Secondary School.

Indera FC broke the deadlock in the 51st minute through Rosli Hj Liman before they crumbled with Pg Anak Hj Damit Baharuddin scoring immediately after the restart for Veteran 20. Hj Sharifurizal Hj Zainal put Veteran 20 in front in the 54th minute.

Suhaili Hj Bakar doubled their lead in the 73rd minute and Hj Sharifurizal put the match to bed with another goal in the 80th minute.

Last but not least, Imfera FC edged out Jerudong FC 4-1 in Group B action.

ANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (28 June 2011) – The National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam (NFABD) are susceptible to the creation of a regional ASEAN league under the auspices of the Asean Football Federation (AFF).

Mohd Noor Abdullah, the general secretary of the NFABD said this week that with Brunei back in the international fold, being part of a regional league might just be the answer to put football in the sultanate back in the limelight.

“Whatever AFF organises, as much as we can we will try to be involved and participate. Now Brunei is eligible to play in regional and international tournaments, and there are a lot of them going on,” said Mohd Noor Abdullah.

The AFF are mulling over an idea to form a regional ASEAN league with the competition to feature one or two teams from each member association.

“AFF organise a lot of tournaments and give their member associations the opportunity to host them. The AFF Under-16 Championship is in Laos (from 7-20 July 2011) and the AFF Under-19 Championship is in Myanmar (from 1-10 September 2011),” said Mohd Noor.

“Brunei like to participate, but again, it depends on our capability and the conditions. It depends on how the tournament is organised, for example.

“If the invite comes to us early, and if we think it is worth it for us to participate, we will.”